Robotics Company Upgrades Advanced Software for Control and Simulation

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Energid Technologies Corporation today announced a major upgrade to its popular software for controlling and simulating robots. Based on software developed for NASA, Actin 2.0(TM) will enable new robotic designs across industries and support development from conception through productization and fielding.

The Actin 2.0 toolkit provides advanced algorithms and software for controlling even the most complex robots, including those with 100 or more degrees of freedom. With only a CAD model, a roboticist can create a powerful control system and immediately test it in simulation. The software supports fixed and mobile robots with any number of moving parts and virtually any kind of articulation. Actin 2.0 optimizes robot motion for strength, improves accuracy, reduces joint torque, recovers from hardware errors, avoids joint limits, and avoids collisions.

The simulation tools in Actin provide revolutionary capability. Exchangeable actuator models include friction, flexibility, power consumption, and torque and speed limits. Articulation dynamics are physically accurate and available through algorithms tailored for fast application to different families of robots. Impact dynamics use multiple contact models, configurable surface properties, and fast and accurate impact detection and response. Actin 2.0 gives the roboticist the tool to answer important questions about new designs before building hardware, all with just a push of a button.

"Our customers wanted fast validation after a design change in CAD software," said James Bacon, Principal Engineer at Energid Technologies. "You can now change link lengths and sensor positions on a robot and simulate and test it with a control system in seconds-instead of what used to take days."

Also new in version 2.0 is uncompromising cross-platform support. Control, simulation, 3D visualization, and networking execute on desktops and embedded systems, with Windows and Linux. Both the Actin C++ toolkit and the Actin 3D viewer work across platforms.

"We continue to support our valuable Windows customers, but also add top-to-bottom support for Linux," said Chuck Seberino, Director of Visualization for Energid Technologies. "We had customers demanding Linux. We got the message."

Actin 2.0 is the perfect complement to innovative robotics hardware. It is easy to integrate stunning control capability into your own C++ software or use components that stand alone and communicate over the network. The software can place end effectors while optimizing any criteria that is configured using built-in tools or a plug-in interface. And it can all be tested in simulation to ensure excellence even before creating the hardware. Actin gives outstanding performance. With Actin 2.0 your robot will sing.

About Energid Technologies

Energid Technologies solves hard problems in robotics and machine vision. Customers include commercial robotics companies, transportation companies, manufacturers, branches of the U.S. Department of Defense, and multiple NASA centers. Founded in 2001, its headquarters are in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It has regional presence in New York, New York; Dallas, Texas; San Diego, California; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Chicago, Illinois. For more information, please visit
www.energid.com.